1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a separator manufacturing apparatus to manufacture a separating plate having a spacing structure which is used as a structural element for a corrugated board, a battery having a laminated structure, a heat exchanger having a laminated structure and so on. Particularly, the present invention relates to such apparatus to manufacture a separator in which the spacing structure is formed by a resinous material.
2. Discussion of Background
Generally, the structure of a separator, even though some differences are found depending on articles in which a separator is used, is such that ribs or projecting strips made of a resinous material are formed in a comb-like shape on a surface of a flat material such as a film or a sheet to thereby form a space in an article.
The separator has been manufactured by a conventional apparatus or method as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 205966/1982 or Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 72437/1979. Namely, the separator has been manufactured by heat-bonding mono-filaments of resin, which constitute ribs, on a flat plate material by a heat sealer, or by applying in a linear form a highly viscous resin having adhesion properties on a flat plate material, followed by curing it. Since the later method is more advantageous than the former from the standpoint of capability of adopting a continuous process, an apparatus as shown in FIG. 5 is practiced to conduct the later method. Namely, a highly viscous molten resin with adhesion properties is forcibly injected through a plurality of gun nozzles 28 which are arranged in alignment, while a flat plate material 29 is moved in the direction perpendicular to the linearly arranged gun nozzles 28, whereby a plurality of streams of resin are caused to flow on the flat plate material 28, then, the resin is cured. Thus, the same number of ribs as the gun nozzles 28 can be continuously formed at once on the flat plate material 29.
In the method and apparatus as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 205966/1982, it was difficult to continuously form such ribs. According to the conventional technique as shown in FIG. 5, it was possible to continuously form the ribs 30 having a predetermined shape to some extent. However, the technique as in FIG. 5 had such disadvantage that when an amount of a resin discharged through the gun nozzles 28 was slightly changed, there caused a change in cross section of the ribs 30, whereby it is difficult to form the ribs 30 having a constant shape and dimensions. The ribs 30 formed on the flat plate material assume a shape of arch in cross section because the shape of the ribs 30 depends on the surface tension of the resin. Accordingly, it is difficult to obtain a desired height in the ribs 30 even though an amount of the resin discharged through the gun nozzles 28 is increased (because the viscosity of the resin can not be increased without any limitation). Further, vibrations in the apparatus and influence of an air stream may form zig-zag ribs 30 and an accurate pitch between the ribs 30 formed on the flat material can not be obtained.